The British Tugowners Association (BTA) has introduced a new Firefighting Emergency Action Card to support tug crews when called upon to assist in shipboard fire emergencies. This quick-reference card sets out essential steps and questions for crews before, during, and after an incident, ensuring interventions are carried out with safety Read more
The British Tugowners Association (BTA), UK Maritime Pilots’ Association (UKMPA) and the Workboat Association (WA) have jointly published “Gog Ropes: Industry Advice”, a new guidance document aimed at improving safety in conventional towage operations. This resource provides practical recommendations for the safe and effective use of gog ropes on conventional tugs, incorporating lessons Read more
The 2025 BTA Annual Safety Seminar was held on Thursday 6 November, at the Leonardo Royal Hotel in Southampton, kindly sponsored by Sanmar, Boluda Towage and Damen. The event welcomed over 90 attendees including tug masters, pilots, marine superintendents, P&I clubs, members of the MCA MAIB, lawyers, workboat crew, harbour Read more
Maritime and Coastguard Agency chief executive Virginia McVea has characterised tug operators as “critical national capability” while announcing the reinstatement of the specialist Eleven 02 survey service for larger tugs during her address at the British Tugowners Association Annual Conference in Belfast “The much-loved Eleven 02 survey service will be Read more
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency will fundamentally transform seafarer certification from September 2025, ending an outdated system that forced mariners to start over when switching vessel types while introducing digital assessments that replace memorisation with practical skills application “The roles of seafarers may not have changed in decades, but Read more
The British Tugowners Association (BTA) held its AGM and Annual Conference at the historic Belfast Harbour Commissioners, drawing over 80 delegates from the UK, European ’s towage and wider maritime community. This year’s conference brought into focus key themes including maritime decarbonisation, emergency response, future fuels, and industry resilience. The Read more
The British Tugowners Association is delighted to announce registrations are now live for its 90th Annual General Meeting, Conference and Dinner 2025. The BTA will be celebrating its 90th year – 1934 – 2025 – in Belfast on 6-7 May. Please come and celebrate with us! This year’s gathering will Read more
The 2024 BTA Annual Safety Seminar was held on Thursday, 14 November, at The Leith Cruise Terminal in Edinburgh, kindly hosted by Forth Ports. The event welcomed over 100 attendees, including representatives from towage operators, pilots, port and harbour authorities, insurers, accident investigators, regulators, and manufacturers. The report of proceedings Read more
The British Tugowners Association (BTA) is delighted to announce that nominations for the 2025 Tug Trainee of the Year Award are now open. The BTA’s Tug Trainee of the Year Award, kindly sponsored for Sanmar Shipyards, is now live and open for nominations, and will award its the recipient at the Read more
Following the annual BTA Conference, Edwin Lampert from Riviera Maritime wrote an article on the presentation by Dr Phil Thompson of BMT on ‘bringing out the best in people using the synthetic tug master and pilot training environment’. The BTA extends its gratitude to the speakers and Edwin for their expertise and professionalism, Read more